You have to feel for Haitian hurdler Jeffrey Julmis. He trained for years to compete in the Olympics. And although falls occur relatively often in hurdles, it happened to Julmis on the first hurdle with the world watching.
During Tuesday’s 110-meter hurdles semifinal, Julmis timed his entire approach to the first hurdle poorly and wiped out without even attempting a true hurdle.
He fell hard and took a massive tumble, taking the first hurdle with him all the way to the second hurdle.
Instead of calling it quits right then and there, Julmis swallowed his pride, got up and completed the race to a massive ovation. He was already disqualified for the fall, but that didn’t stop him.
His comments after the race were especially great. He said via the Associated Press:
“It didn’t make sense to go down as a sore loser. The Olympic spirit – finish the race. It felt good the crowd cheering me on. But I would’ve loved to have made it to the final.”
It was an embarrassing moment, but Julmis handled the fall with absolute class.
